Always
by Akiko Natsuko
Summary: It was always Winter when they met, a bond and a promise that stretches through time.


It was always Winter when they met.

They'd both known that one night wouldn't stop the course of the war, that giving into the feelings that had been blossoming between them since they'd first met wouldn't halt the steady advance of Winter. It was merely a brief interlude, a single moment of warmth in the desolate cold of the winter that was taking hold of their world, threatening to engulf them with each breath, and perhaps that was why it felt so precious. A moment to be treasured, to be remembered as long as they were capable of clinging to the memory.

They had woken the following morning, curled together as lovers, as man and woman. There was no King in the North, no Queen or Mother of Dragons that morning, there was only Dany and Jon, pressed together, skin on skin, fingers tracing the lines of the other's body, memorizing the feel of them, learning each scar and blemish with trembling fingers and warm lips. Both knowing that this might be the only chance they got to this, although that thought remained carefully unspoken.

It was Dany who broke the silence first, rolling over so that she was laid on top of him, fingers gentle as she explored the scars that told the tale of how close he had come to death. He wasn't her Sun and Stars, but staring down into his eyes and seeing the man who had already risked everything to protect her, and help her cause, she thought that maybe he could be her heart.

"I wish that we could stay like this," she whispered at last, fingers moving to tangle with his, needing the touch. Needing to pretend just a little longer that this moment could last, even though she knew that it couldn't, just as she knew that it wouldn't be long before war and their duty pulled them apart again.

"I wish for many things," Jon had smiled at her words, soft and sad, and too knowing as he squeezed her fingers. "Too many." There was a distant look in his eyes for a moment, and she knew that his thoughts had drifted to the family he had lost, and she left him with his thoughts for a moment, knowing that wasn't a grief that she could take from him, before leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to his chin, luring him back to the present and his smile when he focused on her was just a little bit less melancholy. "But, if I could only choose to have one come true. It would be that we could stay like this. That we could hold onto this," he gently disentangled one hand, reaching down, fingers trailing down her neck to rest above her heart, feeling the way, it pounded beneath his touch. "Forever."

_Forever,_ they had both murmured that word during the heat of their passion. It had been easy, too easy to press that word against each other's skin, to share it between desperate kisses and softer moments. It wasn't so easy to say in the cold light of day, reality pressing in on the edges of their momentary peace, and Dany sighed, burying her face against his chest.

"I can't promise forever, neither of us can," she murmured, knowing that he had heard her when the hand holding her's tightened, not painful, but the desperate grip of a man wanting to deny the inevitable. She wanted to deny it too, wanted to pretend that they weren't sailing further into Winter, that they weren't going to fight a war that they might not be able to win and that they most likely wouldn't return from unscathed, unbroken. This time it was her grip that tightened, and she needed a moment before she could get her voice to work again, calming herself by pressing gentle, butterfly kisses across the expanse of his chest before she found the words she needed. "We might not get our forever Jon Snow," she whispered, lifting her head to meet his gaze. "But you will always have a part of my heart."

She couldn't promise him all of it, not yet, and maybe never. She had made that mistake once before, and burned for it, but it was more than that. Her Dragons always held part of her heart and they always would, her children of fire and ash, as would the country that she had dreamed about for so long, even if she might never get to sit on the Iron Throne…but she also knew that the man watching her with understanding eyes had stolen a part for himself, and she smiled, meeting him halfway as he leant in to kiss her, voice soft as he murmured against her lips. "Always."

_Always._

_It was a promise._

"Here." Dany blinked as a coffee cup was thrust under her nose, the steam tickling her chin with the promise of warmth and startled she automatically reached out to accept it, before blinking up at the man who had given it to her. "You looked cold," he explained with an easy grin, seemingly uncaring of the fact that they were strangers or that she had been off in her own world as she had watched the people who were already out on the ice rink, waiting for her turn on the ice. It had been years since she had been ice skating, and as soon as she had caught the advert on the radio she had braved the cold, although she was a little disappointed that she hadn't been able to convince her friends to join her at such short notice.

Maybe that wasn't a bad thing she thought, glancing at the guy, before looking down at the cup cradled in her hands.

"Isn't this yours?" She asked, even as her fingers curled around the cup, desperately chasing the warmth. She'd thought that she'd been dressed warmly enough, although she hadn't been able to find her gloves that morning, sure that one of the dogs had either chewed them to pieces or hidden them in their bed. Probably Drogan she thought with a shake of her head, because as much as she loved him, he caused havoc wherever he went.

"I've got my own," the man replied, wiggling a cup that she hadn't noticed before in front of her, before taking a sip and Dany blushed as she realised that meant he had gone out of his way to buy one for her, opening her mouth to thank him, only to be cut off as he shook his head with a knowing grin. "Don't thank me, just drink it, you look like you're about to become a human popsicle." Startled, and not knowing what else to do she obeyed, humming in pleasure at the taste of chocolate and toffee nut hit her tongue, warmth filling her as she swallowed.

"Thank you," she said, before taking another sip so that he couldn't say she had disobeyed and he laughed, before leaning against the railing next to her, sipping his own drink.

The silence between them was easy, companionable, and Dany found herself studying him out of the corner of her. He was handsome in a scruffy way, his hair tumbling around his head in wild curls and looking as though it was long overdue a trip to the barbers, and there was a scar over his eyebrow that drew her attention, wondering at the story behind it. He didn't seem like the type to go seeking trouble, but then again, he had been bold enough to approach her and buy a drink, and he seemed perfectly at home standing by her side.

She was about to say something, not really wanting to break the silence, but feeling as though she should when he beat her too it. "I take it you weren't standing out here for the sake of it," he asked teasingly, before jerking his head towards the rink that was just starting to empty as people made their way unsteadily to the edge to make room for those waiting their turn, before holding a hand out to her with a winning smile. "Would you care to join me on the ice?"

"I don't know," Dany said, eyeing his hand for a moment, unable to deny that she was tempted before lifting her head to meet his gaze and arching an eyebrow. "Do I at least get to know your name first."

"Jon, Jon Snow," he replied, just as the first flakes of snow that had been threatening to fall for the last couple of days landed on his outstretched hand, drawing a startled laugh from both as he added with a wry expression. "Like the stuff falling on our heads right now."

"Daenerys Targaryen," Dany replied, biting back a giggle at the nonplussed expression that greeted her name. She was used to it by now, having lost count of the number of times her name had been misspelled or mispronounced. "Or just Dany."

"Well, just Dany," Jon bowed, earning a small eye roll from Dany before he offered his hand once more, eyes and smile warm as he asked. "Shall we?"

A small voice, once that sounded remarkably like her older brothers told her that she should be more cautious, but there was something about Jon, about the way he looked at her that made her want to trust him. And it was only with the slightest hint of trepidation that she took his hands, letting his fingers curl around hers and feeling like they had done that a hundred times before as she smiled.

"Yes."


End file.
